On the Holiday Side
by AGKamon18
Summary: Ryo finds out that Bakura, Marik, Kayla, and Tiikeri have never celebrated Christmas and thinking this is terrible, convinces them to celebrate with him. Holiday special for my readers. Bakura/OC. Marik/OC. Not yaoi - rated T for safety. One-shot.


**AGKamon:** So I got the idea to write a holiday special, more specifically, Christmas special. It's a one-shot, a really long one-shot in my opinion. Anyway, in relation to the 'Picking Sides' Series story-line, this takes place after the currently unwritten sequel of Picking the Bad Side. Speaking of which, there are moments in here that you won't understand if you haven't read any of my Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfiction series 'Picking Sides'.

**Bakura:** Marik, Tiikeri, Ryo, Kayla, and I all in the same house - celebrating Christmas?

**Kayla:** Basically! I say Marik does the disclaimer! *points at Marik*

**Marik:** Ugh, fine. AGKamon doesn't own Bakura, Ryo, I, or anything else related to Yu-Gi-Oh!. She only owns her OC's, Kayla Kossori and Tiikeri Toroso.

**Ryo:** There are moments of both Bakura/Kayla and Marik/Tiikeri, so be prepared for them.

**Tiikeri:** Well, start the story.

* * *

><p><span>Kayla's P.O.V.<span>

I frowned as the snow slowly drifted down from the sky above; I had never liked the cold, frozen water flakes. They always caused problems for me when I was on the run; I would have to steal heavier clothes and spend more time hiding from the cold than I did traveling.

"So this is what snow looks like…" Tiikeri muttered from her position sitting next to me on the couch. I looked down at her, lifting my head off of my arms, which were crossed and resting on the windowsill.

"Never seen snow before?" I asked simply; although, the thought shocked me. Even if I hated snow now, I used to love it when I was smaller. I would build snowmen and pretend there were actually people who paid attention to me; not to mention that discarded snow forts made great places to hide when you were spying.

"My family tamed lions and tigers, so we needed to live someplace hot. There was never any snow," she replied, turning to kneel beside me and accompany me in looking out the window. That would be when the back door slammed open.

"Dear Ra, Ryo why did I let you drag me into this?" Marik's shout echoed through the two-floor house. After all, the five of us - Bakura, Ryo, Marik, Tiikeri, and I - decided to pool our earnings and buy a bigger place instead of those apartments; Marik and Ryo sold and moved out of the old ones.

"He never changes…" my friend sighed, standing up to head to the back of our residence. I slipped my sock-covered feet into a pair of slippers and followed her, curious as to what the two boys could be doing. The temperature was barely above zero; who would be going outside in this sort of weather? My eyes grew wide at the sight I was met with when I finally caught up to Tiikeri.

"Boys, why is there a tree in the house?" I questioned calmly. Marik ignored me in favor of whining to Tiikeri about him being cold and wanting hot chocolate. She sighed, making her way to the cupboard and pulling out some instant hot chocolate powder. Ryo, on the other hand, turned toward me with a proud look on his face.

"It's not just a tree, it's a Christmas tree! Christmas is in ten days after all!" he stated, looking extremely accomplished with himself.

"Huh?" I mumbled, tilting my head to the sign in confusion.

"I still don't understand it, Ryo," Marik remarked, eagerly watching a pan that was boiling water for his hot chocolate.

"Why did you need to bring a tree into the apartment?" Tiikeri inquired, fingering the pine tree's branches. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs distracted Ryo from making his reply. Bakura's head peered over the railing, his hair more of a mess than it usually was. He'd said that cold weather made him tired before stumbling up the staircase to his bedroom. That had been at ten o'clock this morning; it was now four-thirty in the afternoon.

_Well this isn't getting any better…_

"What in the name of Ra is a tree doing here?" he asked tiredly, rubbing at one eye with his head before yawning widely. I have to admit, he looked absolutely adorable when he had just dragged himself out of bed.

"I was about to answer that question, Bakura. It's almost Christmas, and it's tradition to set up a Christmas tree - at least it is in my family. Are all four of you saying that none of you have set one up?" Ryo said, looking at us all critically as if the very thought was unbelievable.

"I lived in Ancient Egypt, what do you think?" Bakura growled, staring down at the tree that was blocking his way down the stairs.

"I was raised in a tomb, in Egypt. We didn't have pine trees, Ryo," Marik replied.

"My parents left me alone and usually went to various parties during this part of the month. I've heard of the holiday, but it was an ordinary day for me. Not to mention that being on the run doesn't give you the chance to celebrate anything," I explained.

"I was born into a bloodline of tiger and lion tamers; we only celebrated one thing, the birth of when our family's tamer days began. I was never invited, not that I wanted to go," Tiikeri added.

"None of you have celebrated Christmas? That's horrible! Christmas is the best holiday, ever!" Ryo cried, holding onto his scarf for dramatic effect.

"If it's so great, then why don't we start by moving this tree? It's in my way." Bakura reached down and tugged at Ryo's long, white hair, pointing toward the pine tree that was laying at the bottom of the stairs with his other hand. When Ryo attempted to move the tree and failed, Bakura rolled his eyes and climbed over the railing, landing on his feet beside me. Smiling slightly, he ruffled my hair as he strolled over to the refrigerator.

"So what's this Christmas day about?" Marik questioned, pouring himself a cup of the hot water before stirring in the hot cocoa powder. With a raised eyebrow, he looked over his shoulder at the British teenager.

"W-well…my family usually celebrated by buying presents for each other, having a big feast on the day before Christmas, and then we opened our presents on the day of. Not mention that we always decorated, including this tree that I have to set up, it's my favorite part. Speaking of which, when I dig the pot out of my room, will someone help me lift it?"

"I won't!" Marik exclaimed.

"Ugh, I'll do it. You better go find whatever you need before I change my mind," Bakura grumbled, settling for his own mug of hot chocolate instead of making something new.

"Okay!" With that word, Ryo hopped over the tree and raced up the stairs.

"He's such a child…" Bakura muttered, shaking his head and taking a sip of his still-steaming hot chocolate. I smiled softly, walking over to rest my elbow on his head.

"He hasn't had anyone to celebrate with in a while; you know his dad travels a lot, and that's the only family he has left. We should at least make an effort to enjoy this with him," Marik said.

"Besides, Ryo's an innocent kid. So what if he's a bit childish? A bit of fun sometimes is good for you!" I added.

"Hey, I found it!" Ryo's shout made us all, except Bakura, jump as the boy hopped over the railing only to jog into the living room with an object shaped like the trunk of a tree in his hand. You could almost feel the happiness radiating off of the teenager. With a disappointed groan, Bakura downed the rest of his drink before walking over to the tree. With a bounce in his step, Ryo appeared on the other side of the tree.

"On three?" he asked, trying to get a hold of the top part of the tree. Bakura nodded, his hands grasping the trunk.

"One…two…three!" Quickly moving out of the way when I realized they'd be walking through the kitchen, I watched with Marik and Tiikeri as the two white-haired teens carried the green pine tree into the living room.

"Well, at least he didn't put it in the middle of the room or something…" Tiikeri noted. I nodded in agreement as the tree was set somewhat close to the wall, but with enough room that you could walk behind it as well.

"So we have a tree, where'd you get it anyway?" Bakura wondered, collapsing lazily on the couch.

"My father set me money to buy one as an apology for not being able to come home. So I bought this one; luckily, it's small enough to fit in the back of Marik's truck!" Ryo replied. We had convinced Marik to buy a truck in case we ever needed to transport something big; his only condition was that it had to be purple. Bakura was the only one who disagreed, but he doesn't have a license like Marik and Ryo anyway.

"Now what?" the Egyptian asked after he'd put his and Bakura's mugs in the sink; Ryo smiled even more brightly than before.

"We decorate! I have a box of decorations in my room, plus a separate one for the ornaments we can put on the tree. Will you help me, Kayla?" he requested.

"Sure thing, Ryo. I'll help you get the boxes too!" I remarked, following him as he led me up to his room. Out of the all of us, Ryo's room was the neatest, with Tiikeri's close behind. I simply had too many things; Bakura and Marik didn't seem to care about neatness. Marik's was only neater than Bakura's because Tiikeri asked him to try cleaning it last month. It worked, sort of.

"Hm…here they are!" the white-haired boy said, handing me a small box filled with various trinkets. I was able to see a label on the side reading 'ornaments'; he huffed as he carried the obviously heavier box that read 'decorations'.

"So what do you want me to do?" I asked when we reentered the living room.

"Well, I think you should decorate the tree. I'll decorate the rest of the apartment while all of you are out shopping."

"Why are we shopping?" Marik questioned.

"You have to buy presents for each other. For example, I bought a present for Yugi, Joey, Téa, Tristan, Kayla, Bakura, Marik, and Tiikeri. So I guess you could buy one for everyone who lives here - except yourselves of course," he explained.

"What are we supposed to buy?" Tiikeri inquired.

"Anything you think the person you're buying for will like. ...So Kayla, those little trinkets with the hooks on top of them will be the ones you hang on the branches - like so…" As an example, Ryo grabbed a sphere-shaped object with red-and-green designs on it and hooked it onto a branch near the top.

"Alright. But, what about these little shiny string…things…?"

"The tinsel. You wrap that around the tree; you also do the same for the lights, but make sure you leave enough wire left over so we can plug them in." He grabbed the set of gold tinsel and wrapped it around the tree to show me. I nodded in understanding. With a serious look on his face, Ryo held up a gold star with a long wire attached to it.

"Okay, and this star is something you have to wait until last to put up. You have to set this on that branch that sticks up on the top!" He laughed gleefully, setting the star on the coffee table. I smiled at him and set the box next to the star before beginning to decorate the tree.

"So, didn't you say something about a feast, Ryo?" Bakura asked.

"Yeah, but we don't have to if no one wants to. Decorating and the present exchange is enough for me! Besides, I'm not that great of a cook, I can't make an entire feast." Out of all of us who lived here, Ryo was the only one who could actually cook. I could, but I was only able to prepare simple things; Tiikeri couldn't cook at all. No one trusted Bakura with the stove, he said that was a wise decision, and Marik had never learned how to cook either.

"It's alright. Why don't you make a special dessert or something instead, Ryo? I'll help you frost it," Tiikeri suggested. Ryo's favorite type of cooking was baking, but he was unable to frost anything without damaging the pasty beneath. None of us trusted Bakura with a knife; Marik and I tried to help him, but we failed. Tiikeri attempted and was actually quite good at frosting cakes and the like; she wasn't on a professional level of course, but it was good enough for us.

"That sounds great, thanks!" the teenage baker said. Frowning, I struggled to attach a deer-shaped ornament to a branch that was just barely out of my reach.

"Ugh, Bakura, can you help me? I'm too short!" I whined, looking at him from his spot lounging on the sofa. Rolling his eyes and chuckling, he got to his feet and stood behind me; he took the miniature deer from my grasp and stretched slightly before hanging the small mammal on the exact branch I was aiming for. By accident, the fingers on his other hand rested lightly by my side, brushing lightly against it.

"Anything else you want me to help with before I sit back down?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm a bit short. Can you help me put stuff on the higher branches? Please?"

"Fine." So the two of us went to work using the rest of the ornaments and such from the box until all that's left was the star.

"Can I put the star up, Ryo?" I said, tapping said boy on the shoulder. He was muttering to himself, something about where he should put each decoration, but he still nodded.

"Give me a boost, Bakura!"

"…What?"

"Kneel down so I can get on your shoulders; I want to put this star on the top of the tree." I grabbed the golden, five-pointed star and waited as he slowly leaned down. Smiling, I climbed on his shoulders and held onto the spikes of his hair as he raised himself to his full height. Leaning forward, I set the star on its perch on the peak of the tree.

"Marik, plug them in!" I ordered. He groaned but still gathered the two cords and plugged them into the outlet. The small bulbs scattered across the tree and the star flickered before coming to life. My eyes sparkled as I felt a child-like joy spreading through me. The lights were flashing with the colors of red, green, blue, orange, purple, and white; the star was letting off a soft yellow-gold glow.

"Wow…" I breathed, stepping off Bakura's shoulders when he leaned back down.

* * *

><p><span>Bakura's P.O.V.<span>

"Bakura, get up!" I groaned at hearing the unusually perky voice the next morning. Rolling onto my side so I faced away from her, I attempted to fall back asleep. The weather outside was still cold, and I don't plan on awaking until sometime past noon. That was my plan until a weight settled next to me on the bed.

"Let me sleep, Kayla…" I grumbled, pulling the blankets over my head.

"No! Get your butt out of bed; we have to go shopping with the others!" she retorted. As a response, I only curled up tighter in an attempt to warm myself against the chilling air outside my blanket protection. However, I soon found myself on my back with a shadow hovering over me. Half-opening my eyes, I saw her eyes soften.

"Please Bakura, I really want you to come. Don't you want to buy a gift for me?"

"I will. In the afternoon, when it's not as cold…" I said, now noticing the strange position she'd put herself in. She was straddling me, but it didn't seem to bother her at all.

"Does it really bother you that much?" she asked quietly.

"I lived in Ancient Egypt, where I never had to wear a shirt; the temperature never got even remotely close to being this cold. Therefore, I'm more sensitive to cold temperatures, but I'm tolerant of warmer weather," I explained, smiling slightly at her concern.

"Well, if you lock yourself up all winter, you'll never get used to it. So get up now, or I'll force you!" she reasoned. I rolled my eyes, and brushed away some strands of her hair that had fallen in my face, allowing them to flow down from her face in waterfalls and pool around me.

"I wish to have payment for exposing myself to this wretched weather. You'll find out what it is on Christmas, whenever that is. Ryo will tell me," I responded. A set of shivers wracked my body as soon as the air hit it, even though I was wearing at least two layers of everything. I'd even considered wearing a hat to bed.

"The others are all ready, hurry up! We'll be waiting," she remarked. before rushing out the door and shutting it behind her, but not without flashing me a smile on her way out. She was lucky I liked her so much, or I never would have considered leaving my bed behind. Narrowing my eyes, I picked out the warmest clothes I had, putting on a sweater over my shirt as well.

* * *

><p>"About time, Bakura!" Kayla exclaimed, throwing her arms enthusiastically around my neck as soon as I stepped off the last stair.<p>

"Let's get going," I said, tugging the girl behind me as I slipped my feet into the pair of boots set by the front door for me. Finally, she released me when she realized that to put on our coats, she would have to let me go. However, that didn't stop her from hugging me again when I zipped up my jacket.

"I'm so happy!" she squealed into my shoulder. At hearing her happy tone, I couldn't help but smile; it was wiped off my face as soon as Marik opened the front door, and the cold air hit me.

"Oh dear Ra…" I grumbled, and I subconsciously attempted to huddle closer to the girl whose arms were now around my waist. She felt a lot warmer than I did.

"Take all the time you need; I'll be decorating the entire time!" Ryo called after us before shutting the door. All four of us then piled into Marik's vehicle; he was driving, of course, and Tiikeri was in the passenger's seat with her usual blank expression. I would never understand Marik's fascination with her. Then again, I couldn't say anything about that, seeing as I was the boyfriend of a girl who had three destructive mental conditions. Speaking of which, Kayla and I were huddled in the exceedingly small back-seat.

"Are we going to the mall?" Kayla asked. Happiness and excitement were coming off her being in waves; I didn't mind. By now, I was used to her many different moods.

"It's the best place to go, Ryo told me. He said he got all his gifts there, after all. Besides, I'd rather be inside and doing all this shopping instead of walking from store-to-store, having to go outside every time we needed to look somewhere else," Marik replied. The heating system in the truck was slowly warming me slightly, but I still felt chilled. I suppose it would take a long time for me to even get slightly used to these cold winter temperatures.

"Are you still cold, Bakura?" Kayla whispered. Blinking, I looked down at her and nodded slowly. She smiled and moved closer to me; she was almost on my lap by now.

_Dear Ra…she's so incredibly oblivious sometimes…_

* * *

><p>"Well, we're here!" Marik said, throwing the door open. It sent a new set of chills running through me. She looked at me sympathetically before taking my hand and tugging me out of the automobile.<p>

"Let's get you inside before you freeze!" She laughed it off in a carefree manner, but I could tell that she was worried about my poor resilience to the cold. The warmth enveloped me as soon as we stepped foot in the mall, and the many stores greeted us.

"We should split up, so no one knows what we're buying," Tiikeri suggested.

"Sounds good. Get me something good, Bakura, okay?" she said as she strolled off in the direction of one of the stores. Tiikeri and Marik also went off in their own directions, and I was left alone. I looked around at the shops around me, wondering where to go first.

* * *

><p>We'd all kept our bags close to us in case one of us attempted to take a peek at what we had bought them. When Marik's truck pulled in the driveway, all of us were met with an interesting sight. A set of red-and-white canes lined the walk that led to the door. As soon as Kayla took the first step onto the cleared pathway, the canes flashed with light. She yelped and moved to stand behind me, occasionally shoving me toward the strange cane-shaped structures.<p>

"What the heck are these things?" Tiikeri wondered as she walked past them. Shrugging, Marik and I followed the copper-haired girl; Kayla trailed closely behind me. It must have been sometime in the afternoon since it wasn't as cold as it had been before we'd gone into the mall, but I was still freezing.

"Hey guys, I just finished decorating the inside!" Ryo called from some part of the house when Marik opened the front door. The interior of the house was even more impressively decorated than the outside was. Rings of pine tree branches adorned the walls, and a trail of small white lights hung close to the ceiling, flashing brightly.

"Woah…" the blue-haired girl beside whispered, admiring the multitude of decorations that seemed to be placed in the areas where they looked perfect. The British decorator peered at us from the kitchen, a red-and-white hat sitting upon his head.

"How's it look?" he asked.

"Not bad." I shrugged; there wasn't anything I could compare to after all.

"This looks amazing!" she exclaimed.

"Did you all get your shopping done?"

"Yeah. What now?" Marik replied, holding up his bag for effect.

"We have to wrap them, of course!"

"How are we supposed to do that?" Tiikeri questioned. Ryo smiled and brought out a roll of brightly patterned paper.

"Why, I'll show you of course! I was going to finish my presents anyway; I still need to wrap Joey's and Yugi's. Come on." He motioned for us to join him at the kitchen table for his demonstration as he grabbed a small cardboard box from the counter. That's when our lesson on wrapping presents began.

* * *

><p><span>Marik's P.O.V.<span>

I growled at the present I was attempting to wrap; it was Kayla's. So far, I had wrapped Ryo's and Bakura's presents; I'd been locked up in my room for an hour already. After his demonstration, Ryo had herded us all up to our rooms, telling us to lock the doors and not come out until we were finished.

"I was able to survive the Shadow Realm; why is wrapping a box in paper so difficult?" I asked myself, eyeing the box. I sighed, picking up the roll of paper Ryo had given him, he'd given each of us a roll, and cut myself a new piece to begin this task once again.

"Well, let's get this over with…" I whispered, carefully attempting to wrap the present in the way Ryo had showed us. It was a simple method that I was able to understand, but I had never done this before. Living in a dusty old tomb underground never gave me the chance to celebrate anything that normal children did. Then again, all of us who lived here were the farthest from normal that I've ever seen; even Ryo, who had a fairly normal childhood, can mysteriously act so childish and innocent although Bakura, who used that teenager's body to do many awful things, is now living in the same house as him. I would never be able to understand how he'd forgiven the ancient spirit so quickly.

"Done, all that's left is Tiikeri's!" I remarked as I pressed the tag onto the top of the box; it read 'To Kayla. From Marik.' Smiling, I grabbed the final gift and started the process of wrapping the box once more. Admittedly, I'd taken quite the liking to the green-eyed girl ever since I met her after the Orichalcos incident. Bakura and Kayla, mostly the former, had been telling me to talk to her, but I couldn't. She'd never shone any hint of being interested in me; then again, Tiikeri never really showed any emotions in the first place. I hoped that the gift I had for her would allow her to open up a bit more toward me; she really only showed the slightest hints of having feelings when she was with Kayla, as far as I could see.

"I hope this works…" I muttered while slapping the tag onto the box. Carefully, I gathered all the presents so I could carry them downstairs. Ryo had said something about us setting all the presents under that tree when we were finished after all.

* * *

><p><span>Tiikeri's P.O.V.<span>

The day before Christmas, Christmas Eve I believed Ryo had called it, the innocent white-haired teenager asked me to frost the cake he'd baked. Of course, I said yes since I enjoyed the task. Walking into the kitchen, I caught Ryo flipping through a set of pictures filled with designs.

"Something wrong?" I questioned, glancing over at the rainbow of frosting colors he'd set on the counter. He was so excited about this holiday that the, he'd called it 'jolliness', seemed to be spreading to the rest of us, mostly Kayla and Marik. The Egyptian had been trying harder than usual to earn my attention; I knew how he was interested in me, but I needed a little longer to decide what I wanted to do with the scenario.

"I have some ideas on how you should frost the cake, but I can't decide. What do you think?" he replied, showing me a pair of frosted cakes he probably printed off some website.

One was covered in white frosting with green swirls along the border of the top of the cake. The words 'Merry Christmas' were printed in red on the center of the pastry, and there were small presents in multiple colors on the sides of it. The other was also frosted white, but there was a green silhouette of a simple Christmas Tree that had frosting ornaments that spelled out 'Merry Christmas.' Along the sides of the cakes were some small deer, or as Ryo would say - reindeer.

"Hm. I like the tree on this one, but I want to do the presents on the sides instead of the deer. Is that fine with you?" I suggested, grabbing the frosting colors that I thought I'd need.

"I like that idea! I can't wait to see how it looks when it's done!" he remarked, untying and handing me his apron before practically skipping into the living room where the others were waiting.

"Good, he already knows the drill." Every time I frosted something for Ryo, no one was allowed in the kitchen with me. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the amazement on their faces when I served the pastry to them. I smiled, perhaps this happiness that was rapidly spreading through all of us was getting into my system as well; Bakura, however, seemed completely immune to it. Bakura was an interesting character, that was for sure, but I could see that under his rough exterior that he truly did care about Kayla. It was really sweet to see how much he softened when she walked in the room; he really was in love with that crazy girl.

_They're the example of that odd couple who are really perfect for each other that you see in movies._ Ever since I'd began living here with Kayla and the others, Ryo and Marik had taken a liking to dragging me downstairs every time they had a movie night. Marik usually picked the usual 'boy' movies, but Ryo had a tendency to choose softer, more romantic movies. Halfway through those films, he'd usually walk out saying that he was getting tired; I was beginning to think that he was trying to get Marik and I together as a couple. However, I would eventually take that step into my future, but I wasn't ready yet.

"Almost done," I noted, admiring the tree, ornaments, and letters that I'd already managed to frost onto the cake. I grabbed a tube of frosting with each of our favorite colors for the presents. There was purple for Marik, dark blue for Kayla, red for Bakura, yellow for Ryo, and green for myself. I smiled again and went to alternating the colors in a pattern. If I was judging by the colors, I'd describe the pattern as: Kayla, Bakura, Ryo, Marik, myself, and then it went in that order until the chain connected with itself and went all the way around the cake.

"There!"

* * *

><p><span>Ryo's P.O.V.<span>

"So Ryo, I keep seeing this guy with a white beard on a lot of the wrapping paper and such; who is he?" Kayla asked me when I entered the living room. She was still completely captivated by the Christmas tree, I noticed, when I settled myself into the armchair. She was leaning on Bakura, who appeared to be half-asleep but awake enough to encourage me to answer the question with a motion of his hand. Marik was sprawled across the loveseat, eyeing the presents he thought were his as if he would know what was inside by staring at them.

"Yeah, I was wondering that too," the blond added, sitting up to look at me. I still couldn't believe that the three of them, plus Tiikeri, had never celebrated Christmas; I understood Bakura's and Marik's reasoning, but I would've thought that Tiikeri's family would have done something for the holiday. I had hoped that Kayla's family made an exception around Christmas and actually paid attention to her for once; it was saddening to learn that they didn't

"Oh him? That's Santa Claus; he's sort of like a myth that parents tell their children."

"Tell us then…" Bakura said, seeming interested for once.

"Well, supposedly he lives up in the North Pole in a toy factory with a bunch of elves, who make the toys. On the night before Christmas, he packs the toys into a sleigh and gets in it. There are eight, nine if you count Rudolph, flying reindeer that pull the sleigh. During that night, he goes around the entire world to deliver presents to every little boy and girl whose been good for the year."

"How does he deliver them?" Kayla questioned.

"The stories say that he climbs down the chimney to leave the presents by the tree. Also, if you leave cookies and milk out, he'll eat and drink them. However, he won't come around if the children of the house are awake. After delivering all the presents, Santa and his reindeer return to the North Pole so they can prepare for next year," I explained.

"And you…believe that?" Marik inquired slowly. I chuckled.

"Not anymore, but I used to when I was younger. I even wrote notes to him that I left by the cookies!" I replied.

"So…this Santa guy is like a reverse thief! Instead of breaking in to steal stuff, he breaks in to give you things!" Kayla concluded. Her expression showed that she truly thought her idea was brilliant.

"I guess you could think about it that way," I said, laughing softly. I saw a smile flicker pass over Bakura's lips as he leaned over to gently kiss the top of Kayla's head. She laughed it off, but the dust of pink now covering her pale face was extremely noticeable.

"When can we open those presents, Ryo?" Marik asked.

"Tomorrow morning, when we're all awake. We'll open the gifts at that time. Oh! I just remembered, I bought all of you something that'll put you into the holiday spirit even more!" I remarked, snapping my fingers in realization.

"There!" I could barely hear Tiikeri's voice sound itself from the kitchen, but we all knew that whenever she said that while she was frosting something, she was finished. I jogged up the stairs, eager to dig out the items I wanted to show them. With a smile, I dug the five red-and-white hats out of the plastic bag in my closet and pulled one on my head. I was greeted with everyone waiting for me at the kitchen table; Tiikeri was tapping her foot while she stood in front of the cake. I knew it was behind her.

"What are you wearing?" she asked, pointing to the hat.

"Santa hats! I bought each of you one!" I remarked, pulling the remaining four hats out from behind my back. I handed one to each of them.

"It's the hat of the reverse thief!" Kayla said, more to herself than anyone, before she put it on and flicked the white cotton-ball-like sphere, causing it to bounce so it was behind her head now. Marik studied the red and white hat with a suspicious gaze before he shrugged and tugged it on. Tiikeri soon followed suit.

"Why do I have to wear this thing?" Bakura questioned. He barely finished his words before Kayla hopped up from her seat, grabbed his hat, and put it on his head. Briefly, he glared at her; she only smiled brightly, only causing Bakura to sigh and shake his head.

"I'll only wear it for tonight."

"Since that's settled, we have cake," Tiikeri announced simply before turning to pick up the cake behind her and set it on the center of the table. She sat herself in the empty seat between Marik and I. Each of us had a comment about the cake that she'd placed before us.

"You're really outdone yourself, Tiikeri!" I praised.

"It was nothing; I had reference pictures," she replied.

"Nice job," Bakura said.

"Yeah, it looks great!" Kayla added.

"Mhm. Can I get a piece with a purple present?" Marik's childish question forced us all to pause and look at the Egyptian, who raised an eyebrow in response.

"Seriously, Marik? That's all you can think about?" Bakura sighed, bringing his palm up to connect with his forehead.

"No, but it happened to catch my attention! …It does look amazing, Tiikeri."

"Thanks." Rising to her feet, she cut us each a piece of the beautifully frosted cake, being sure to give the one with the purple presents to Marik. He thanked her immensely for it, promising to hug her as soon as everyone finished. She'd rolled her eyes, knowing that he wouldn't forget that little detail.

* * *

><p>"That was delicious," Kayla said when we finished, watching Tiikeri put the cake in the refrigerator to save the rest, which was about two pieces. At once, Marik jumped up from his seat and hugged the copper-haired girl as soon as she turned around.<p>

"Thanks again, Tiikeri. You're really amazing, you know that?" he remarked, his voice slightly muffled by her hair. I signaled for Kayla and Bakura to follow me upstairs, seeing as I had a feeling that Marik really wanted to talk to Tiikeri on his own for now. I was one of his best friends, so of course I would give him that privacy.

* * *

><p><span>Marik's P.O.V.<span>

Tiikeri pulled my arms away from her and forced me to step back; she had a determined but confused look in her deep-green eyes.

"What are doing?" It was a simple question, but I really had no idea how to answer. That comment had slipped out by accident; I looked down, tapping the toe of one of my shoes on the tiled floor.

"I-I don't know…honestly…" I replied quietly, wringing my hands nervously. She tapped my arm, leading me to raise my head and look at her face.

"I know you have something to say, Marik. It's really obvious." My body stiffened; I had been hoping that my feelings were the opposite of obvious.

"Well, I do really like you a lot, Tiikeri. What about you?" My voice sounded hopeful, and I wished that she would say that she liked me back in the same way that I liked her.

"…I have to admit that I do feel something special for you…" she sighed, as if she were finally admitting it herself. A grin broke out on my face as I pulled her toward me, holding her close. Slowly, she returned the gesture and shifted to rest her cheek against my chest, and I set my chin on the top of her head.

_I think Christmas is my favorite holiday now!_

* * *

><p><span>Kayla's P.O.V.<span>

I smiled brightly at hearing Tiikeri and Marik finally admit their feelings to each other; Ryo and Bakura looked down at me expectantly.

"Well?" the shorter of the two pressed.

"They admitted it; now let's go to bed, shall we?" I asked cheerfully, pecking Bakura on the cheek before prancing off to the bathroom to brush my teeth, seeing as all of us except Ryo and Tiikeri had already prepared for bed otherwise. Afterward, I entered my bed and collapsed into bed, snuggling into the warm covers. I yawned blissfully and let myself fall into a deep slumber, excited for what would happen tomorrow.

* * *

><p>"Get up." My eyes snapped open at hearing those words the next morning; I turned to see Bakura watching me with a raised eyebrow and an amused smirk.<p>

"What?" I asked tiredly, rubbing at one of my eyes.

"Ryo and the others are waiting for you to open the gifts. So get up. Everyone's down there, they didn't even bother to change."

"But…" I gestured to him, who was clearly in a new set of clothes.

"It's cold, so I put on an extra layer this morning. Now are you going to get your pretty little self out of bed, or do I have to carry you?" He grinned, ruffling my already messy bed-head. I smirked back, holding out my arms.

"Carry me." He rolled his eyes but still pulled me out of bed and lifted me up. A soft chuckle sounded from him as well.

"Just down to the living room, I know you can walk on your own."

_Huh, a piggyback ride…? _Shaking the thought out of my mind, I wrapped my arms around his neck so I didn't fall. I still couldn't believe how different he acted when it was just the two of us, or in general, Bakura was much more lighthearted and a bit less serious than he used to be. He wasn't so changed that he was a completely different person, but he smiled more and seemed happier. I was glad that he was finally having a good time, no matter how much he tried to deny it.

"Happy now?" he grumbled setting me down when we arrived in the living room. Marik was constantly glancing at Tiikeri while she attempted to ignore him like usual, but I knew that they were waiting to tell us until they were sure that it was official between them. Ryo, on the other hand, was smiling brightly at us with a Santa hat on his head.

"Okay, everyone grab the presents that have a tag with your name on it," he explained, grabbing a set of four boxes and sitting on the floor. We all followed suit and sat on the floor in a circle; all of us had four gifts. Everyone eyed each other expectantly, waiting for someone to make the first move. Finally, someone cracked. A certain Egyptian blond cracked.

"I'll go first!" Marik sighed, grabbing a present with blue paper that had snowflakes on it. Curious, he slowly tore into the paper before ripping it off with enthusiasm. Inside was a small, white box, which he opened to reveal a little gold-colored pyramid on a chain.

"Hey, thanks Tiikeri."

"No problem." She shrugged, but I didn't miss the extremely small blush appearing on her cheeks. Marik opened the rest of his presents; he got a new set of armbands from Ryo, a small cat figurine from Bakura, and a necklace with a little cat pendant from me. Due to their Egyptian upbringing, we quickly learned that both Marik and Bakura had a soft spot for cats, Marik more so than Bakura.

"I'm next…" Tiikeri said quietly. She lifted a present with red-and-green paper on it and cautiously ripped the paper from the box. A black box was revealed, and when she opened it, her eyes sparkled; I instantly knew it was dog-related. Since she had a fear of tigers, lions, and most other cat-like animals, she thought that dogs were absolutely adorable. Tiikeri lifted a dog plush toy out of the box. It was floppy-eared and white, with light-brown and black markings.

"Thanks Marik!" For the first time I've ever seen, she really looked happy. The Egyptian laughed nervously before giving her a one-armed hug. Bakura had gotten her a little toy dog that walked around and barked, Ryo bought her an apron so she had her own for when she frosted his pastries, and I gave her a necklace with a tiny, silver dog on the black pendant.

"My turn!" Ryo cheered as he eagerly but calmly released the box from its paper prison. The paper was red with little green trees randomly printed on it. He pulled a new apron out of the box; the apron was mostly white, but it had yellow trim on the edges. A wide smile broke out on his face.

"This is great, Kayla! Thanks!" I laughed lightly and said it was no problem. After all, his old one was covered in stains and was more gray than it was white anymore. Bakura bought him a new cookbook, Tiikeri gave him one of those white chef's hats, and Marik bought him a little fish-shaped ornament that he could put on the desk he had in his room. It was an orange goldfish on a spring, so it bobbled every time you touched it. Ryo, out of all the pets in the world, said he liked fish the best for some reason. Personally, I was more of a gerbil or hamster sort of person.

"Uh, I guess that means I'm next…" Bakura sighed, tearing into a present that had the red paper with green trees on it. Then he stopped and pulled out a red rode with white markings on it. All in all, it was remarkably identical to the robe he used to wear when he was the Thief King; I'd also been sure to check if it was fairly warm. It was.

"This looks like…" he muttered, a shocked expression adorned his features for a split second before he leaned down and kissed the top of my head. I knew he wasn't the sort of person who'd thank anyone, at least not in front of people other than me. Other than my present, Marik bought him a cat figurine that was similar to the one Bakura had given him, Tiikeri gave him an ancient-looking knife in a glass case, and Ryo had gotten him, surprisingly, a book of blank paper. Unknown to everyone except the people in this room, Bakura dabbled in sketching. It wasn't professional of course, but I thought he was an amazing artist when he actually tried. He'd actually asked whether he could draw me; I'd said yes.

"And finally, me!" I remarked, picking up the present that had little Santa-like figures on a green background. It was a small gift, I noted, as I tore the paper away. I opened the small, black box and lifted up one of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry I've ever seen. It was a silver chain, with a dark blue pendant; it was also a locket. Curious to see whether the gift-giver had put anything inside, I popped open the locket to reveal a picture of Bakura and I. Smiling widely, I threw my arms around Bakura's neck.

"Thanks so much!" I squealed as quietly as I could, not wanting to deafen the white-haired young man. He patted me on the back with one hand, bracing himself from falling over with his other.

"You're welcome." He then distanced himself from me and gently took the necklace from my hands, and in moment, the locket was around my neck. I gave him another smile before turning to the remainder of my presents. As it turns out, I got a new lighter from Marik, a miniature camera from Tiikeri, and a cute, little gerbil-like plush toy from Ryo.

"Now what?" Bakura asked Ryo, who was returning from the kitchen with a cane-shaped, red-and-white object sticking out of his mouth. He'd told us that they were called candy canes and were mint candies; I hadn't gotten the chance to try one yet.

"I guess we can hang around all day; there won't be any stores open or anything. I'm going to put away all my gifts," he replied. Then, without further ado, he gathered up the cookbook, apron, hat, and fish ornament before heading to the kitchen to put away his new baking supplies. He then went up the stairs to figure out what to do with that little fish-thing from Marik. Speaking of the blond, he and Tiikeri were chatting with each other quietly, leaving Bakura and I to our own devices.

"Do you want to test out that new paper of yours?" I asked, looking up at him while I stood and picked up all my presents. He nodded and did the same. After I'd put the lighter, mini camera, and plush toy in my room, I headed over to Bakura's and opened the door.

"So, which side are you on?" he asked; I could see his grin from my position across the room. I laughed; it was a joke between the five of us but mostly Bakura and I. Seeing as how, over the course of a little over three years, I've been neutral, on the bad side, and on the good side of things; Bakura always joked about what side I was on at different times. He motioned for me to sit on his bed, which I did, so he'd have me in a better position to draw me from. I smirked at him before I answered.

"The holiday side."

* * *

><p><strong>AGKamon:<strong> 'The holiday side' refers to the fact that, with each part of the 'Picking Sides' series, the titles of the main stories are related to the side that Kayla is on. For example, she was neutral in Neutral, as she had no idea what was going on and didn't exactly choose a side. In Picking the Bad Side, she's obviously on the bad side because she joined Dartz. Since this is a holiday special, she's on the holiday side. Also, I was going to do some sort of mistletoe scene, but I thought that it was a bit overdone and Ryo wouldn't have that particular decoration.

**Ryo:** What about our gifts? Where'd you come up with those?

**AGKamon:** Tiikeri and you gave him jewelry, which Marik likes. Also, I read somewhere that cats were, like, revered in Ancient Egypt, so I figured that both Marik and Bakura would like cats for that reason. I made you give Bakura a sketchbook because he lived in Ancient Egypt where they used hieroglyphs, so I figured he'd have some sort of drawing talent. Also, most people know that Bakura does have a thing for knives, and Kayla's present - the Thief King robe - was given to him for obvious reasons. Tiikeri, has a fear of lions and tigers, so I figured that she'd be more of a dog person, leading to her dog-related gifts. Not to mention that I think she would like something like frosting cakes and stuff, so she got an apron. Kayla's gifts are more obvious, a lighter from Marik because she a pyromaniac, a mini camera from Tiikeri because she spies on people all the time, and I can just see her liking gerbils/hamsters. Her favorite color is dark-blue and she really treasures having people around her that care, especially Bakura, which is why he got her a locket. Finally, Ryo just seems like the type of guy who'd like baking, I don't know why, so he got a bunch of baking stuff. And I can see him liking the idea of having a fish for a pet.

**Marik:** What about our favorite colors?

**AGKamon:** Yours is purple because I've always thought that you would like purple. Kayla's is dark-blue for obvious reasons, and Tiikeri wears a decent amount of green when I usually never use that color, leading to her liking green. Red is Bakura's color because, you know, blood is red. I was thinking black, but I decided to go with red. Ryo's color is yellow because he's all happy, innocent, and 'light'. When I think of light, I think of the sun, which makes me think of the color yellow.

**Bakura:** Reviews?

**AGKamon:** I reply to reviews on the main 'Picking Sides' stories, so there aren't any.

**Tiikeri:** That makes sense.

**Kayla:** Yeah, it does.

**AGKamon:** Everyone, end the holiday special with me!

**All:** Read, review, and happy holidays! (Even if it's a few days early)


End file.
